Neal Adams ('Batman: Odyssey')

Few comic artists have had as profound an impact on the industry as Neal Adams. Not only did the iconic illustrator's work in the 1970s help shape the modern incarnations of Batman, Superman and X-Men, but his efforts as a creators' rights advocate have unequivocally changed the business for the better. This summer, Adams makes his long-awaited return to one of the characters he moulded all those years ago with writer-artist venture Batman: Odyssey. DS caught up with the artist to chat about his reunion with the Caped Crusader.

Batman: Odyssey sees you make a return to the character you helped shape in the 1970s. How did the project come about?"I had become quite bored with advertising from the pre-production standpoint, having achieved most of my goals. I have begun doing full-up advertising production, which I have enjoyed. This put me in line to the fact that I really would rather see my work in print, on television and in movies, than to be used behind the scenes. I have had a Batman graphic novel in mind for years. Frank Miller was good enough to mention my interest to his good friend Bob Schreck, then editor at DC. I can't believe they lost him, in fact. I gave my outline to Bob. We talked about it, and he invited me in to do the project. I will say this. People in comics have always been very nice to me. It's a very good business to be in. And of course, Bob is one of the best folks in the business, as anyone who knows him will attest. The project got off to a quick start and other projects got in its way. Especially the motion comics we produced for John Cassaday and Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men 'Gifted'. I have since ploughed into this Batman project with gusto, and I am presently pencilling the eighth issue in the series of 12."

What is the biggest challenge in returning to work on a title after so much time?"There are several. First, the standards of comic books have gone up to my utter and lasting delight. You may recall that when I first got into comics, back in the dark ages, the rates were awful, the production terrible. DC Comics had 32 colors, Marvel had 64. We were under the heel of the Comic's Code, and to be perfectly honest, and if you will allow me, competition wasn't that great. Today we have millions of colors, the rates are good and the competition is excellent. I will have to 'look to my laurels' just to keep up. How invigorating that is. In addition, all the work that I did back then has come or soon will come to the big screen. They are finally doing my Batman. The first X-Men movie was the first plot of my X-Men series, in which Magneto builds a machine to turn regular humans into mutants. Soon there will be a Green Lantern movie. Green Arrow seems to be established firmly on television and I'm sure he has a bright future. And I suspect Deadman will soon be a film."

How does your take on the character in this series differ from recent creators' interpretation of him?"Since recent creators have pretty much been following the Batman that I created in the '70s, I'd have to say not much. But you know each writer and each artist will do different things. Rarely in a major way. But you know if you watch the latest Sherlock Holmes movie, you certainly can agree that that is Sherlock Holmes, but of course, it is quite a different 'take' than you have seen before. In the same way, my Batman will be different but remain the same. What I have found is that many writers and artists have left little bits and pieces lying around in their mad rush to tell a story. I have simply wandered along this trail, like a deer stalker you might say, and retrieved all these bits and pieces that have been left lying around. Little things also that I might explore that others might not explore. The Joker, for example, having a conversation with Batman, and mid-sentence, having Deadman enter his body to finish the conversation in deadly earnest and unrelenting seriousness."

How does writing and illustrating a project yourself compare to drawing a comic based on another writer's script?"I get to curse out the writer more than usual because he can't get away. Otherwise there's no real difference. Writing a comic book story is a separate and different skill set, and it's not done at the same time or the same way as drawing a comic book. You begin with your plot, which you have written terribly, you breakdown your story into pages so you don't have too much story in too little pages, or too little story in too many pages. You write to challenge the artist, but not burden him with too many talking heads, bad transitions or poor plot resolutions."

Can you give us an overview of the plot?"I cannot give you an overview of the plot. That would be too much. But I can tickle your fancy. As Batman moves into a new, more violent world, his foes are more deadly, his danger greater, the weaponry more powerful, and inevitably his resolution will by nature be dulled with time. Suppose he's just a little less aware, a little bit more easily fooled, could even Batman be taken advantage of? His actions compromised and corrupt, without him even knowing? Seems impossible, doesn't it? But let us say even a small portion of this is true. Like the rest of us, Batman might have to re-examine his whole reason for being. And like great heroes of the past, he may also have to go on an Odyssey to find the thing that he could have nearly lost, himself. Where would this Odyssey take him to? He seems to have done everything. Oh no he hasn't."

Which villains and allies will be featured in the story?"Well, everybody does show up, but Joker and Riddler play key roles in the early part of the story. Deadman is a powerful presence. Ra's and Talia, very much so. Oddly, Ubu. Well, I'll hold off on that. Aquaman has a guest shot. But my favorite guest star is Batman. Oh well, I'm sure I'm boring you. That's enough for here."

Finally, as a creator who has played a big part in developing Batman over the years, what would you like to see from Warner Bros' next film in the series?"I would like to see Manbat, perhaps controlled by Ra's Al Ghul. I will admit that although I enjoyed some of the colourful clowns at one time or another, I think they have a mildly negative effect on the Batman franchise."